Essay Photo
Rudolph Troncone
Max Hilaire
Photography
Gallery Report
I went to Rick Wester Fine Art gallery to view Lilly McElroy’s I Control the Sun Exhibition. Her exhibit was up with two others, which were Death Wooed Us by Donna J. Wan and Selections From Surf Site Tin Type by Joni Sternbach. All of the exhibits seemed to revolve around how humans perceive and interact with their environment. McElroy’s works explores American landscape as a stage for performances where she combines personal interaction with cultural reference. She looks for ways to explore, exploit and change the cliché in her series of works. All works were roughly around 40” and were framed with a light wooden frame.
While I wasn’t too impressed with Lilly’s exhibit as a whole there was one piece that really stuck out to me the most, Califonia’s Full of Whiskey, Women and Gold. The title of the was based off Toby Keith’s song Should've Been A Cowboy. In the piece a women (Lilly McElroy) is throwing a stone towards the sun. The archival pigment print’s exact dimensions are 30”x 40”. It is very unique compared to most of the collection, which consist of hands grasping the sun and with out a doubt stands out immediately upon viewing the exhibit.
The lighting is very theatrically done in the piece and the contrast between the lights and darks creates an incredibly visually appealing image. The viewer’s eye is drawn up to following the action of the women throwing the rock. The hard texture of the grass balances well with the blurred open blue sky and mountains. There is something liberating and rebellious about the piece. You can definitely feel the beauty of breaking the norm in this. The dark saturated colors also contribute to the success of this piece.
In the gallery it states that all the pictures were “selfies” so she took this photo on a tripod with a timer and timed herself throwing the rock. Perhaps she even did it remotely but we cannot see what’s in her left hand. This photo was defiantly
Max Hilaire
Photography
Gallery Report
I went to Rick Wester Fine Art gallery to view Lilly McElroy’s I Control the Sun Exhibition. Her exhibit was up with two others, which were Death Wooed Us by Donna J. Wan and Selections From Surf Site Tin Type by Joni Sternbach. All of the exhibits seemed to revolve around how humans perceive and interact with their environment. McElroy’s works explores American landscape as a stage for performances where she combines personal interaction with cultural reference. She looks for ways to explore, exploit and change the cliché in her series of works. All works were roughly around 40” and were framed with a light wooden frame.
While I wasn’t too impressed with Lilly’s exhibit as a whole there was one piece that really stuck out to me the most, Califonia’s Full of Whiskey, Women and Gold. The title of the was based off Toby Keith’s song Should've Been A Cowboy. In the piece a women (Lilly McElroy) is throwing a stone towards the sun. The archival pigment print’s exact dimensions are 30”x 40”. It is very unique compared to most of the collection, which consist of hands grasping the sun and with out a doubt stands out immediately upon viewing the exhibit.
The lighting is very theatrically done in the piece and the contrast between the lights and darks creates an incredibly visually appealing image. The viewer’s eye is drawn up to following the action of the women throwing the rock. The hard texture of the grass balances well with the blurred open blue sky and mountains. There is something liberating and rebellious about the piece. You can definitely feel the beauty of breaking the norm in this. The dark saturated colors also contribute to the success of this piece.
In the gallery it states that all the pictures were “selfies” so she took this photo on a tripod with a timer and timed herself throwing the rock. Perhaps she even did it remotely but we cannot see what’s in her left hand. This photo was defiantly